Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand - Blog Tour Stop!

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Welcome to my stop on the Cold Blood Blog Tour! I've got some great stuff for you; not just my review, but also an amazing excerpt from the book AND one of you lucky readers will win an eBook copy of Cold Blood (details after the review/excerpt). You can enter *HERE* or at the bottom of this page. Good luck! Enjoy your stay and I hope you love Cold Blood as much as I did! 

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles. Unless they're kicking your butt in the process. Which happens more often than not for the freshman. Lucky for them, my presence has just stolen the spotlight, and they get a break from the daily joys of hazing. At least I've got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De'Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he's destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn't going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point's evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?

Review

This book picks up exactly where Dirty Blood leaves off, which I thought was great. Wes is pretty busy taking over duties for the Cause while Jack is still recovering, so unfortunately we don't see him much in the beginning (or at all really). The story follows Tara as she gets settled in to life at Wood Point Academy, a school specifically for aspiring werewolf hunters. She's pretty reluctant at first, not seeing why she needs the extra training and not wanting to be away from Wes for such a long period of time, but in the end she doesn't have much of a choice, as both her mother and grandmother think it is what's best for her.


Tara was amazing, once again. She was thrust into an unfamiliar situation, at a new school, with kids who despised her just for the fact that she was half-werewolf, half hunter. There was certainly a lot of animosity toward her, but luckily she makes two new friends, Cambria and Logan, to make it at least tolerable. I really enjoyed both of these new characters, but especially Cambria, who was spunky, outspoken, and didn't really care what other people thought of her. Also, new hot guy alert! In Cold Blood we are introduced to Alex, who is assigned to help Tara with her hunter training, to be able to catch up with the other students. He's handsome and confident, but what makes their dynamic even more fascinating is the fact that Alex absolutely hates werewolves (for very personal reasons). Some other familiar faces are seen throughout as well, such as Jack and Fee, Miles, and Cord, and it's nice to get reacquainted with them.


As I mentioned before, there's a new hot guy on the scene. Honestly, usually I take a side when a love triangle enters the picture, but I'm really torn on this one. I absolutely adore Wes and at the time I read Dirty Blood I couldn't imagine anyone being better for Tara. Then along came Cold Blood and with it came Alex, Tara's hot, broody tutor. I was crushed to learn that Wes wasn't in this book much at all, and when Alex is introduced I felt kind of annoyed, like how dare the author try and break up such a cute couple! Once I got to see more of Alex though, I started to fall for him too, even though he was extremely conflicted with Tara being half Werewolf. I think that made their interactions so much more interesting and I enjoyed seeing how they both changed as the story progressed and they got to know each other better. So in this case, I'm torn. I still love Wes, but I'm drawn to Alex as well. Only time will tell where Tara's heart will lead her and I'm anxious to see who she chooses; I know in Vera's vision she saw Tara and Wes together leading the Cause, but I'm guessing things could always change.


I'm absolutely loving this series. It's a lot different than the other Werewolf books I've read in the past and so much more entertaining. Once I started reading this one, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. That's when I always know I have a good book on my hands; even when I have to put it down, my mind keeps wandering back to it and wondering when I will be able to get back to reading.


The characters are amazing, the story was superb, and the ending packed a punch, leaving us with a very tantalizing cliffhanger. If you're looking for a new YA book, I highly recommend the Dirty Blood series; you definitely won't be disappointed!

Now let's get on to the excerpt from Cold Blood. I think you're going to enjoy this one, it's from when Tara first meets Logan:

I followed the boy out but kept my distance, unsure why he was being so nice after the way the rest of the kids had acted.

“Hey, I’m Logan,” he said, extending his hand.

I shook it, still skeptical. “Tara.”

“I know. The battle grounds are this way,” he said, setting off on a narrow path that led into the trees.

I hesitated.

He stopped and walked back over to me.“If I’m lying, you could probably take me in a fight,” he said. “I’m just saying, if that makes you feel better.”

I considered that. “Okay, let’s go.”

He smiled, and a tiny dimple appeared in his cheek above his lip. I smiled back, an automatic gesture, and let Logan lead the way down the narrow path. I was half tempted to turn and look for Professor Flaherty behind us, just to be sure, but I didn’t. I’d made the decision to trust someone on the basis of a dimple, and I couldn’t turn back now.

The air was cooler in the cover of the trees. I was glad I still had my hoodie and pulled it tighter across my abdomen and zipped it up. I glanced up at the thick green canopy of leaves – mostly pine needles –and branches that dimmed the sunlight. The contrast of the rich green against the brown bark was mesmerizing. I breathed in deeply, and the scent of dirt and moss filled my head. It made me think of Wes and the goodbye we’d had in the trees behind my house.

Wanting to push the image away, I turned my attention back to the path in front of me and saw that the trees were breaking up ahead. Logan stepped off the path and pushed his way through light bushes, into a clearing. I stepped through behind him and saw that he hadn’t deceived me after all. The rest of the class was all assembled, broken into little groups and talking and laughing.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Don’t mention it. Sucks being the new kid,” said Logan.

“How do you know?”

“I was it last year. Not fun. I had to buy new underwear five times. Eventually I just carried it in my backpack so they couldn’t get to it.”

I looked at him with wide eyes, unable to bring myself to ask why he’d needed new underwear. Maybe I didn’t want to know.

To find out where you can read the next installment of Cold Blood, please visit www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com

If you would like to learn more about the author, Heather Hildenbrand, please check out her webpage and Twitter.

I really hope you enjoyed my stop on the blog tour. I'm so glad I got the chance to be a part of it all and even MORE glad that I got the chance to read this absolutely amazing books. Bring on Book #3!!

Now last, but certainly not least, THE GIVEAWAY! Up for grabs is 1 (one) eBook copy of Cold Blood. You know you want it! All of the details are on the giveaway page, no crazy hoops to jump through on this one (although a follow is always welcomed!). Giveaway ends Saturday, December 17 at 11:59 PM CST.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!